Location scouting

Location scouting is a vital process in the pre-production stage of filmmaking and commercial photography. Once scriptwriters, producers or directors have decided what general kind of scenery they require for the various parts of their work shot outside the studio, the search for a suitable place or "location" outside the studio begins. Location scouts also look for generally spectacular or interesting locations beforehand, to have a database of locations in case of requests.

Location scouts often negotiate legal access to filming locations.

Suitability of a location to the task at hand takes into consideration many factors, including:

Typically, the production department and the locations department discuss ideas as to what a filming location should or could be. Then, research begins to find and document the location using location scouts.

The location scouts and other locations-department staff (see below), working under the supervision of the Location Manager, generally provide as many potentially useful and viable ideas and options as possible. These ideas and options are then reviewed by production, represented often by the assistant director, production manager, and director or executive producer, in the case of narrative filmmaking.

Once a consensus on locations with the most potential is reached, arrangements are normally made for some of the heads of the other production departments to tour those locations to confirm suitability. This tour is commonly called a "tech scout", "recce", or "go-see".

During this time, the locations department (most likely the location manager, in situations requiring the most responsibility) will have contacted and begun negotiations with internal and external parties who may affect the crew's ability to film at the location. This part of location scouting is known as "clearing the location" and involves investigating and confirming the availability of the location, the fees to be paid to a location owner or agent, obtaining a certificate of insurance, and obtaining any needed film permits, which may involve fees. "Resident letters" or "filming notifications" might also need to be distributed. These are notices to neighbors, advising them of the intent to film in the area, which is often a local requirement.

The completion of these steps results in "locking down" the location by ensuring that all details and existing or potential issues have been addressed. It is the locations department's job both to anticipate and minimize problems associated with a location and to advise other production-department heads of intractable problems for which contingencies can be planned or the decision to use an alternate location can be made, which might involve additional planning and budget allocation for additional location scouting.